Big Brother Pham tells me to 'go hug a tree' when I tell him something too politically correct or left wing for his comfort. Well, brother, I am trying to hug as many trees as I can by being an informed consumer and producing less waste. I can't take any of the credit for becoming aware of the impact my mindless consumerism has on the planet. I have places like Biome Eco Stores doing the research and hard work for me. It all started with my search for a palm oil-free  and cruelty-free deodorant, and has snowballed into more tree-hugging hippie choices from there.

I shop online with Biome and not at one of their 4 Brisbane locations, because I like their online loyalty program where you earn as you spend, and score $1 vouchers for every purchase reviewed. But even better, they have free in-store pick up so no shipping fees either. AND even better than that, Little Sissy Pham works near their Brisbane CBD store so I don't even pick up my own orders, I send my sibling to get my shopping because I am the ultimate at lazy bastard.

It's simple to reduce and reuse once you get into the habit. It takes a conscious effort in the beginning because we're so conditioned to live our throwaway lifestyles, but once you get into the swing of things it becomes second nature to question whether you really need a plastic item, whether there's an earth-friendlier alternative, or maybe you can do without. Here are a few things I've bought from Biome's stores to make me a less wasteful Earthling:



Reusable Coffee Cup - Of course, as soon as I got my KeepCup, I gave up my takeaway coffee habit. Now my cup is a morning tea travel mug and is super cute to boot. You can also get professional (read: minimal) colour combos so if happy colours ain't your thing, they have sad colours too.

Reusable Produce Bags - These things are a great replacement for the disposable plastic bags in markets - the ones you see floating in oceans and choking turtles and whales and all the marine animals to death. So, you know, they're handy and less evil. Also handy to wash the produce while still in the bag 'cause it's mesh then easy to hang out and dry.

Soap nuts - I was using EarthChoice laundry powder, which is a great vegan, and environmentally-friendly supermarket option (though each box comes with a plastic scoop). But after trying a bunch of other Biome recommendations that I love, I was curious about That Red House Organic Soapberries. It works a treat and is gentle on fabric so I no longer use fabric softener. I like to mix in lemon and lavender essential oils to give my kit a nice scent but that's optional. Winning.

Bamboo toothbrush - I gave up my beloved electric toothbrush and that lazy-fresh feel because the guilt of throwing plastic toothbrush heads into landfill every few months got to me. The bamboo brushes are like the plastic manual toothbrushes - they get the job done.

I'm an optimist so of course I believe every little bit helps - if there's anything you can see yourself switching up, go head and give it a try. Go forth and explore! biome.com.au